The Classic was a professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

tournament, which began in 1980 and ended in 1992. It was originally a non-

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

event, but became ranking in 1984.

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, DJ, electronic musician and author. He dominated professional snooker in the 1980s, when he reached eight ...

won the event six times and was the last champion.

History

The tournament started as the ''Wilsons Classic'' in January 1980. It was an eight-man invitation event recorded by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

. John Spencer defeated

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgi ...

4–3 in the final to become the inaugural champion. The second event was held in December the same year, with

defeating

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He turned professional in 1972 and won the 1985 World Snooker Championship, in which he lost the first eight frames of 1985 W ...

4–1 in the final. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, the Russian automobile manufacturer

Lada LadaAccording to various sources, the name Lada is derived from a Russian word for Viking longships (). (, , marketed as LADAFrom 2004 onwards Lada is marketed worldwide, including in Russia, using the all-capitals brand name written in Latin sc ...

became the sponsor of the event and it was renamed to ''Lada Classic''. Steve Davis made the first televised

maximum break A maximum break (also known as a maximum, a 147, or orally, a onefourseven) is the highest possible in snooker in normal circumstances and is a special type of . A player compiles a maximum break by potting all 15 with 15 for 120 points, fo ...

(147) in his quarter-finals match against John Spencer. Terry Griffiths won in the final 9–8 against Steve Davis. In 1983 the field was expanded to 16 players and moved to the Spectrum Arena in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. Bill Werbeniuk reached the only final of his career, but lost 9–5 against Steve Davis. In 1984, the event was granted ranking status. Steve Davis met

Tony Meo Anthony Christian Meo (born 4 October 1959) is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles C ...

in the final. Davis was level at 8 frames each with

and only the colours were left in the deciding frame. As Meo lined up on the yellow, a spectator yelled out "Come on, Tony!". Although Meo took time to compose himself after the shout, he missed the yellow and Davis cleared the colours to win. Mercantile Credit took over the sponsorship for the 1985 and the event was renamed ''Mercantile Credit Classic''.

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13– ...

won the only ranking tournament of his career, by beating

Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn (born 16 January 1948) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Hi ...

13–8 in the final. In 1986

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won ten ranking events. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his swift and attacking style of play, White has reached six World Snooker Championship finals ...

won his first ranking tournament by defeating Thorburn 13–12 in the final. In 1987 the event moved to the Norbreck Castle Hotel in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, but only just the last 16 played in the final stages, as the opening rounds were played earlier in the season. Steve Davis won in the final 13–12 against Jimmy White. Davis won the event the following year, this time defeating John Parrott 13–11. In 1989,

Doug Mountjoy Douglas James Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within t ...

won his second consecutive ranking tournament, having previously won the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican in York, England. Ronnie O'Sull ...

, by defeating Wayne Jones 13–11. The following year was a tournament of upsets, as only of four of the top sixteen players reached its seeded place. Steve James won his only ranking tournament by defeating Warren King 10–6 in the final. The tournament moved to the

Bournemouth International Centre The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC ) in Bournemouth, Dorset, was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England. Additionally, it ...

in 1991.

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and a current Sports commentator, commentator and pundit. One of the most successful players in snooker history, he turned professional in 1985, ag ...

reached the final of the tournament in 1991 and 1992, but lost 4–10 against Jimmy White and 8–9 against Steve Davis respectively. After the 1992 event, it was discontinued and replaced with the Welsh Open.

Winners

Sources:

References

{{Snooker tournaments Defunct snooker competitions Snooker ranking tournaments Snooker non-ranking competitions Snooker competitions in England Recurring sporting events established in 1980 Recurring events disestablished in 1992 1980 establishments in England 1992 disestablishments in England